shelby
11-08-2008, 05:25 AM
Enjoy....
New York Jets 5-3
Buffalo Bills 5-3
New England Patriots 5-3
Miami Dolphins 4-4
QB Leader: Chad Pennington 7TD, 4INT, 95.2 Passer Rating
RB Leader: Thomas Jones 75.1 YPG
WR Leader: Lee Evans 84 YPG
Scoring Leader: Ronnie Brown (8 TD)
When Tom Brady hit the ground, it became anyone's division to win. With New England much less powerful than before, who would grab the reins? Would it be the Bills, with a revamped defense after additions of Marcus Stroud, Kawika Mitchell, and Spencer Johnson, and a young offense that finally had a tall compliment to elite receiver Lee Evans? Would it be the Jets, with more offseason free agent additions than new members to Guns n' Roses, including All-Pro's Brett Favre and Alan Faneca, and star-on-the-rise Calvin Pace? How about the Dolphins, who, under new leadership in Bill Parcells and Chad Pennington, just had to make up for a poor year last year? As we hit the midpoint of the season, we see who took advantage.
All of them.
The Buffalo Bills have made it look hard. With wins over former playoff teams Seattle, Jacksonville, and San Diego, this team was beginning to look like cream of the AFC East. Enter the Dolphins and Jets, and they look plain bad. Was it the poor fourth quarter play of Trent Edwards in the Miami game? Was it the very few, but very crucial, mistakes in the Jets game? It was all of them. The team that doesn't know how to win games they are supposed to is beginning to hurt again, too, with losses of starting RG Brad Butler, WR Josh Reed, DE Aaron Schobel, CB Ashton Youboty, and S Donte Whitner. To bolster the roster, they have signed 4th year FB Teddy Lehman, who was released by Detroit this summer.
The road ahead doesn't get much easier. They must face New England twice, and face the Jets and Dolphins on the road. Even if they sweep those, they are still 4-2 in the division, and any other team in the tight-knit AFC East could mark that and force them out. They also face two roller-coaster teams in Cleveland and Denver. With long-awaited QB Brady Quinn taking the helm in Cleveland, that could either be the spark they need, or the disaster that Kawika Mitchell is licking his chops over. In order to pull off the season, the Bills need to learn two things: stop the slant pass, and fix the small mistakes. Is it simply put? Yes, but this team has been torn apart by short passes and slant routes that end up starting long, tiring drives. If Trent Edwards can revert back to his early-season self, expect to see this young team in the post season.
more... (http://www.billszone.com/mtlog/archives/2008/11/08/midseason_afc_east_report.php)
New York Jets 5-3
Buffalo Bills 5-3
New England Patriots 5-3
Miami Dolphins 4-4
QB Leader: Chad Pennington 7TD, 4INT, 95.2 Passer Rating
RB Leader: Thomas Jones 75.1 YPG
WR Leader: Lee Evans 84 YPG
Scoring Leader: Ronnie Brown (8 TD)
When Tom Brady hit the ground, it became anyone's division to win. With New England much less powerful than before, who would grab the reins? Would it be the Bills, with a revamped defense after additions of Marcus Stroud, Kawika Mitchell, and Spencer Johnson, and a young offense that finally had a tall compliment to elite receiver Lee Evans? Would it be the Jets, with more offseason free agent additions than new members to Guns n' Roses, including All-Pro's Brett Favre and Alan Faneca, and star-on-the-rise Calvin Pace? How about the Dolphins, who, under new leadership in Bill Parcells and Chad Pennington, just had to make up for a poor year last year? As we hit the midpoint of the season, we see who took advantage.
All of them.
The Buffalo Bills have made it look hard. With wins over former playoff teams Seattle, Jacksonville, and San Diego, this team was beginning to look like cream of the AFC East. Enter the Dolphins and Jets, and they look plain bad. Was it the poor fourth quarter play of Trent Edwards in the Miami game? Was it the very few, but very crucial, mistakes in the Jets game? It was all of them. The team that doesn't know how to win games they are supposed to is beginning to hurt again, too, with losses of starting RG Brad Butler, WR Josh Reed, DE Aaron Schobel, CB Ashton Youboty, and S Donte Whitner. To bolster the roster, they have signed 4th year FB Teddy Lehman, who was released by Detroit this summer.
The road ahead doesn't get much easier. They must face New England twice, and face the Jets and Dolphins on the road. Even if they sweep those, they are still 4-2 in the division, and any other team in the tight-knit AFC East could mark that and force them out. They also face two roller-coaster teams in Cleveland and Denver. With long-awaited QB Brady Quinn taking the helm in Cleveland, that could either be the spark they need, or the disaster that Kawika Mitchell is licking his chops over. In order to pull off the season, the Bills need to learn two things: stop the slant pass, and fix the small mistakes. Is it simply put? Yes, but this team has been torn apart by short passes and slant routes that end up starting long, tiring drives. If Trent Edwards can revert back to his early-season self, expect to see this young team in the post season.
more... (http://www.billszone.com/mtlog/archives/2008/11/08/midseason_afc_east_report.php)